PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide information on some basic formal aspects of Opus Dei of Balaguer — better known simply as “Opus Dei” and called “the Work of God” by its members.

Inevitably, in explaining the most basic questions, it becomes necessary to explain others, because it would not be Christian to fail to point out what we consider to be significant shortcomings or contradictions in the official discourse of Opus Dei as presented to the public.

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GENERAL INDEX

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS


1. How does Opus Dei publicly define itself?

Opus Dei provides or facilitates at least four different definitions of itself, which we show below. These are definitions that are either expressly formulated by them or are easy to compose based on the traits and characteristics they claim to have.

The four circles of definition of Opus Dei

In a simplified way, these definitions could be understood as concentric circles, from the smallest to the largest:
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The titles we give above are for guidance only; they are not necessarily titles that they recognize. In particular, they reject for themselves the title of “particular church,” even though they possess all the elements and characteristics necessary to be considered a parallel church within the Church. (p10)

The first two definitions are predominantly juridical, while the other two aim to reflect reality without placing so much emphasis on the juridical form. We will examine each one in detail in the following questions and answers.

Vocabulary

In this document, when we say “juridical” or “legal”, we refer to the set of rules that internally regulate the functioning of the Roman Catholic Church, and not to the civil laws of each country or international laws.

When we say “according to canon law”, we are referring in general to these rules but, more specifically, to the Code of Canon Law, which is the main body of ecclesiastical law of the Roman Catholic Church. (1983cann)


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2. What is the personal prelature of Opus Dei?

Related: The four circles of definition of Opus Dei

We will answer in two parts.

1. It is the legal formula by which they present themselves to the world

The following is a typical and official definition (taken from opusdei.org) with which they present themselves to the general public. We have translated the definition from the Spanish website, as the definition there is more complete. (Our underlining)


If a new reader arrives at opusdei.org or related sites seeking to learn about Opus Dei, he or she will be invited, from the start, to consider this central idea-definition: “Opus Dei is a personal prelature”.

However, if you dig a little deeper, you will see that:


Therefore, a question that may seem as simple as “What is the personal prelature of Opus Dei?” becomes complicated because it requires first dismantling some misconceptions. To begin with, the question will become clearer when we relate it to the concept of the Church of Opus Dei.


2. It is the main and thickest part of the Church of Opus Dei

The personal prelature of Opus Dei is the name, formula, and institution that, together with the Priestly Society of Opus Dei (officially, “of the Holy Cross”), constitutes the juridical form of the Church of Opus Dei. (c3)

We call “Church of Opus Dei” —without being an officially recognized name— the hierarchical community composed of a certain people, priests, and a pastor (“the Prelate”) who are united and defined by the spirit of filiation, obedience, and imitation of the late Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (“the Father”) and who thus practice a form of spirituality that distinguishes and separates them (c4) from other Catholics and Christians. (c6)

The Prelature and the Priestly Society of Opus Dei are, together, the juridical form of the Church of Opus Dei. (c3) The Priestly Society of Opus Dei (officially, “of the Holy Cross”) is, as its name indicates, an association of priests. And the figure of a personal prelature is assimilated, according to canon law, to an association of priests. (c7) Therefore, technically, the juridical form of Opus Dei is two closedly united associations of priests.

However, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, through four successive Roman pontiffs, has allowed and continues to allow the abuse of the figure of personal prelature to accommodate, in practice, the hierarchical community of people, priests, and pastor that is the Church of Opus Dei — effectively nullifying the legal (canonical) definition that a personal prelature is something assimilated to an association of priests. (c8)

Under such falsification of the figure of personal prelature, the situation is as follows:



Vocabulary

A diocese is, in simple terms, a territory entrusted to the care of a bishop, who is called the diocesan bishop. It may coincide with the territory of a civil province, but not necessarily. Priests who are hierarchically under such a bishop are called diocesan priests. For example, the priest who runs a parish is a diocesan priest.

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3. Why is that official definition insufficient?

Above, we have reproduced an official definition —focused on the figure of personal prelature— by which Opus Dei presents itself to the general public. For the reader's convenience, we repeat it here:


Why can we say that this definition is insufficient or deficient, based on other statements and arguments that they provide?

1.  Because they do not mention the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, which is an inseparable part of Opus Dei, even though it is not part of the Prelature. (1982stat)

2.  Because “Opus Dei is certainly not just a personal prelature. Opus Dei transcends its institutional configuration as a prelature.” (2008erra)

3.  Because they do not explain that they are applying to themselves a concept of personal prelature that is foreign to the Code of Canon Law:



4.  Because in this definition presented to the public, they do not mention what really defines Opus Dei: a peculiar religious spirit, pastoral and vocational; nor do they explain what that spirit consists of. (2022odch) (c2)

5.  Because the words “holiness” and “sanctification” conceal a double meaning: (a) ‘sanctification’ as pursuing personal perfection in imitation of Christ; and (b) “sanctification” as adherence to specific methods and a specific spirit, imitating Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. (c2) They are not being transparent about this. (c3)

6.  Because, by not clarifying this double meaning of “sanctification,” they give the appearance that the (Roman Catholic) Church is failing in its evangelization about “sanctification” as pursuing personal perfection in imitation of Christ (and that, therefore, the creation of Opus Dei was necessary) — which is a very serious veiled accusation.

7.  Because they do not morally justify how a Christian institution can claim for itself the title “the Work of God”, excluding others. For example, the Roman Catholic Church (or any other Christian church), according to this usage, would not be the Work of God. (c4)

8.  Because they do not say that the date given, October 2, 1928, is symbolic, based on a subjective judgment, an alleged supernatural event without witnesses, and does not correspond to any legal milestone. (2023vinu) On that date, “there were still no faithful linked to the Work” (2023vinu) and the name Opus Dei had not yet been established. (2025merc)

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4. What is a personal prelature?

Before reading the answer, it is advisable to be aware of the following two facts as background information:

1.  Since the personal prelature was created in 1965-1966 until today (2025), almost 60 years have passed, and the Opus Dei of Balaguer (c1) has been and remains the only organization that has claimed (since 1982) this ecclesiastical figure for itself. (2025spec)

2.  The personal prelature does not define exactly what Opus Dei is, either in form or in substance:  (c2)



Will the knowledge of what a personal prelature is help you to learn what Opus Dei is?

As is easy to demonstrate, the concept of personal prelature defended by Opus Dei is a falsification of the concept of personal prelature as it appears in canon law. (c4)

Therefore, the juridical form of a personal prelature is not a faithful representation of the reality of Opus Dei. However, the justification they give for availing themselves of this juridical form could tell us something about the spirit of Opus Dei: Do they practice transparency or duplicity? Evangelical integrity or “the end justifies the means”?

They themselves acknowledge that, in the past, they accepted “a juridical garment that did not correspond to the nature of our spirit” and that “was purely instrumental in nature: at the service of the founding charism of The Work”. Therefore, their code of conduct would not prevent them from repeating the same story with the personal prelature. (1974coco)


What is a personal prelature?

A personal prelature is a juridical entity that emerged from the Second Vatican Council, not as a particularly evident necessity, but as a new idea under the approach of “perhaps this could be useful.” (1965pror)

From this point on, the question splits into two:



What is a personal prelature according to canon law?

We remind the reader that canon law is the set of rules that internally regulate the functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and is essentially concentrated in a main body of laws called the Code of Canon Law. (c4)

The canonical concept of a personal prelature is summarized in the following words by Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, (2022vaca) doctor and professor of canon law, and consultant to various Congregations and Pontifical Councils:


(“clergy” = “clerics” = priests and deacons)

The canonical norms defining the concept of a personal prelature are very few and very simple. (c5) They are not absolutely precise, but they are precise enough to make it clear that a personal prelature is an association of clergy, not of lay people:




What is a personal prelature according to Opus Dei and its supporters?

Opus Dei and its supporters have created the fantasy that the figure of a personal prelature is flexible enough to allow for the following practical definition, although they never state this in such clear terms:


But it is not so ambiguous.

It is true that the figure of a personal prelature, which is similar to an association of priests, allows for the assistance of lay faithful. But the role of the laity is auxiliary, not principal:


(“laity” = “lay faithful” = ordinary people who are not priests or religious)

On the contrary, in the Church of Opus Dei (c8) the laity are an immense majority, not an external and auxiliary body, but an internal body that is the main recipient of the mission of Opus Dei.

Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer initially created Opus Dei as an association of lay people, not priests. (1941piun) Later, priests were introduced to provide spiritual guidance to the lay people. (1993mase) (2007goig) Therefore, the role of the lay faithful in Opus Dei is not auxiliary, but central — precisely the reverse of what would legitimately be a personal prelature.


Conclusion

Given that Opus Dei has taken advantage of the legal construct of personal prelature through the back door of “lay persons who have entered into agreements with the prelature”, what analogy can we offer to illustrate what has happened?


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4.1. Is Opus Dei a personal prelature?

Yes and no. The Church of Opus Dei (c1) practices a double discourse according to which Opus Dei is, at times, “only the prelature” and, at other times, “not only the prelature”. (c2)

According to them, the name Opus Dei simultaneously designates several concepts. Only one of them is identified with a personal prelature. (c3)

The name “Opus Dei” is an officially approved abbreviation to designate the personal prelature of Opus Dei (1982utsi) but, at the same time, and also according to them, the name “Opus Dei” designates a broader reality that is not limited to the prelature. (c4)

This makes it impossible to speak accurately about Opus Dei without adding a prefix to the name. For example, we can speak of: (a) the Prelature of Opus Dei, (b) the Church of Opus Dei, or (c) the global organization of Opus Dei. (c1) (c3) (c4) Therefore, we will split the initial question into three:


And the corresponding answers:





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Continue reading Part 2 – About the name of Opus Dei



En Español:  Parte 1 de Algunas preguntas frecuentes sobre el Opus Dei de Balaguer - El enredo de la Prelatura Personal

Originally published on July 25, 2025, feast of Apostle St. James